The Angel's Façade
by LeoOsaka Bakura's stalker
Summary: A dusty book brings a terrible light to Dark's world as he unravels the truth about why his Angelic other half wants him dead. Worst off, Krad doesn't even remember it happening! DarkKrad.
1. Prologue

_Pairings: DarkKrad, DaisukeSatoshi (more friends than lovers…they're fourteen for crying out loud.) _

_I HAVE read the manga and I have seen the anime, but this is kinda a little twist of mine. Also, I WILL NOT put honorifics and random ass Japanese words…it looks friggin tacky and I wish people wouldn't do that so often. _

_Please read authors note following this!_

_-----_

'_Big brother…your artworks are so beautiful…paint me a picture, please?'_

**The Angel's Façade  
**_Ch. Zero_

Several deft fingers worked in a synchronized rhythm despite the lack of light to aid in the coordination with the owner's eyes. There was no dire need for vision when it was such an easy, well performed task. A lock…a pick…and an opened door. A simple, unremarkable habit really. A thief by well practiced expertise, there was no obstacle the self proclaimed thieving master could not get around. This time, however, the thief was greatly unsettled and this simple task, though mundane and thoughtless, aroused an irritation in him that was unexplainable for what he was doing.

The object of desire was not a painting, nor a sculpture as it usually was. This time, it was a book. A plain, unremarkable book from what he gathered. He knew that art was not subject to be only painting and sculptures…but a simple book. Where could the value in such a thing lie? Yes, there were some books that were worth a ridiculous bit…the note books of Da Vinci, for instance. This though, wasn't even a work that was proudly featured in a museum. Nor was it in a priceless gallery or library. This was in an old mansion. To be more correct, and abandoned old mansion.

'Dark, there isn't anyone around, so what's wrong?' A soft voice called from within the mind of the thief.

'Nothing, Daisuke.' He answered, not dishonestly, but not expressing his slight of tension. A book. What could be so special about a book that he had to steal it from an abandoned house? He planned to find out and hoped it would satisfy his questions. Albeit, he could never tell Daisuke they were standing in the main foyer of the old Hikari house. The boy would without a doubt flip out with either ecstatic amazement or intense paranoia. All of his bets were on the latter.

'Let's just go already, this place is freaking me out. I keep hearing voices.'

This statement drew Dark to a complete stop and he uttered a verbal, "Oh?" He looked around cautiously. He had heard nothing but disdainful silence as he stalked the empty building that he remembered as being so full of life. Somehow, he knew this place so well but for the life of him he could not remember the circumstances of being in the Hikari household. It was all faded out, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he probably would never know.

'Yeah, I keep hearing whispers. The last one was someone talking to their brother…it was too soft to hear most of the words, but they said brother, that much I'm sure.'

'Well how come you hear it but I didn't?' The elder being frowned with dismay. He didn't like being in the outer part of a suspicious activity and to have to have it relayed to him through Daisuke as a medium aggravated him. He liked to be in total control of the situation and that usually happened as long as Hiwatari didn't show up.

'I don't know, but it's stopped. Hey, there's the door with the white wings on it.' Daisuke announced, looking through his eyes in an off manner, while Dark controlled the major functions of their shared body.

"White wings huh?" Dark ran a single hand over the engraved decoration on the door. It was painted tenderly to look soft, but the dark wood that held the paint was just as dead and lifeless as the rest of the house. Time had turned the Hikari's beautiful home into a desolate graveyard for unwanted cast away art pieces and apparently worthless books. "Those usually spell bad things." He muttered aloud. He was no longer worried about there being someone to stop him. Not even the one being he was reminded of when he looked at the white wings on the door.

'Strange to hear someone say that…angel wings are usually white and angels are symbols of hope and peace.' Daisuke added, hearing his counterpart clearly.

'Yeah, well tell that to Krad, he doesn't seem to get that, what with being the Angel and all.' Dark snorted mentally. He pushed the unlatched door open and allowed a moment for the dust to settle before he pressed on, ignoring the webs and dirt that stirred from the unusual movement in the abandoned home.

'You think about him quite often, Dark,' the inner voice spoke and Dark immediately reacted in a showy repulsed manner.

'I do not think about that parasite a lot!' He couldn't say that his younger host's words were completely wrong. He was justified in wondering a bit, but that was to be expected when the past was fuzzy and the gold and white angel hated him with every fiber of his artistically created being. He didn't suspect there would be any real reason to know…but he was curious and curiosity needed to be sated before he would stop questioning it.

He knew who he himself was, but he didn't know who his other half was. This was the only real way to find out. He mused to himself. Daisuke didn't know they were in the Hikari mansion…Daisuke didn't know that he was looking for an unremarkable book created by one of the earliest Hikaris. Daisuke didn't know that Dark's reasons had nothing to do with value or a crazed artwork. This was for a completely different reason. He had sent no warning note…He had not told Daisuke's mother. He had not mentioned a thing to Hiwatari like he usually did, regarding the young officer with a casual taunt. This was his personal quest.

He slowly stalked to the vast bookshelf. He knew the book's design by heart. It was a black leather bind with gingerly painted gold on the trim and on the side. A skewed pair of wings would be outlined in gold on the spin-edge of the book and it would have unlined pages, many probably still blank but yellowing from age. He personally loved the color gold on a black surface. It made such an item look classically sophisticated to him.

Thumbing through the other, useless, books that were neither completed nor originals, he wondered exactly what was within the book that he needed to find it so badly. He had pictured it perfectly in his mind. It was clear as a bell on a crisp cloudless day. But he knew nothing of it and nothing of what it contained. All he knew is that when he thought of the demonic Holy looking beast that acted as his other half, he picture this book in his mind. It was not unremarkable in comparison to everything else he stole. Just a plain book. No value in it. So why? Why had this vision of this book, with a black face, a gold trim and blank pages seem like it was the beginning and end of the world as he should have felt it.

Finally, he picked the black book from the shelf. The spine held no written clue as to what it was, but with a quick skim through the majority of the book, it was clear to him then that this was not a novel, or a diary as he originally thought, but a lyric book with melodies and music sheets drawn and written into it. The handwriting itself was extraordinary. It was so fluid and clear. The person who wrote it was very much educated, leaving many well thought out personal notes in the margin of the pieces being written.

So it was true. All of the Hikaris were artists in some way or another.

'Dark?' Daisuke's voice broke his gentle concentration.

'Hm?'

'How old is this book?' He asked curiously. Dark had wondered the same thing for a fleeting instant.

'Let me check the front pages.' He replied and turned the book to the first page. He scanned the words, written so neatly it was almost inhuman.

'Wow, that's a long time ago, this book is over four hundred years old, Dark!' Daisuke announced, seeing through the same eyes Dark was seeing through, but the book suddenly seemed farther away to him as the seconds of Dark's silence passed. Daisuke would have jumped in his own body once the echoing thud crashed through the silence of the room.

'Dark? What's wrong?'

'…I'm…I'm…I'm very confused now.' Those eyes would have revealed that to any onlooker. The book at dropped from his surprised fingers. He cursed himself for his lack of control, but even as he stared down at the open cover, revealing the plainness of the front written page…he couldn't fathom the relevance in this…it was far to unbelievable to be true and as such how could it be relevant? But the test of time told all the truths and staring down at his worst fear that he had to own up to the fact that there was something there.

The ache in his very soul and longing in his heart had not been phantom. There actually had been a side to that man before he went psychotic.

'Dark? Dark! Tell me what's wrong!'

"The author….the author's name…"

'What is it? I can't see it anymore.'

"It's Krad. Krad Hikari."

**To be Continued…**

_Okay, so I've slightly changed my mind, but I have decided I will post my chapters after I've thoroughly scanned them over. Originally I was just going to take this down after a found a beta or two to help me keep this story in check. But I've already posted it and might as well leave it. So if you'd like to help me Beta it (which means you'll be cued in on plot points and given previews and chapters before I post them, please leave a review or PM me!_


	2. The Whimsical Grail

_A/N: I've beta proofed this as best I could. And since I'm not working on Chapter Three, I figured it was okay to go ahead and post this one. I kinda got into it more than I thought I would._

**The Angel's Façade  
**_Chapter One – The Whimsical Grail_

"There, all done." Daisuke gleamed happily, once he had finally managed to transfer the notes into his computer. He had to slightly alter them to work with modernized equipment, but he was sure he could change the instrument option if he really needed to hear it in a different way. He had borrowed his dad's laptop to download a digital music creator so he could copy the notes left in the book they had found almost a week before. With Dark's help, many of the erratic notes written in both German and Latin were successfully translated. 'Dark?'

'Hm.' The short voice of his friend echoed in his mind.

'I finished the translation and put the song into the computer. I found the translation for the French words too. The title of this piece is "The Whimsical Grail." I'm not quite sure what the lyrics mean though. It's a little too above me.' He chuckled a bit, trying to keep a lighthearted tone with Dark, who had displayed a strange behavior since they found the book.

'Whimsical Grail huh? That almost sounds like something he would say.'

'Well, if this really was written by Krad, why wouldn't he remember it?' Daisuke wondered, but he knew there were probably many reasons to explain it.

'Probably the same reason I don't remember what happened in the first few generations that I've been living with the Niwas. Though, what confuses me is that he _was_ a Hikari. And some how ended up part of the Kokuyoku. I wish I knew more of what happened.'

'Maybe we could ask him?'

'Do you enjoy having your head attached?'

'Well duh.'

'Then talking to Krad is not a good idea. He's out for my blood, remember? And for what it's worth, maybe it's not important. Maybe that isn't even the same Krad.'

'You don't believe that for once second, Dark.'

'…No, I don't but…damn it…why can't this make some sense! GAH.' Dark's agitation was felt by Daisuke in waves. He felt for his other half because it was something that only he could figure out.

'At any rate, I got the song finished. Want to listen to it? It won't sound exactly like the artist intended, because the instrument isn't the same I'm sure, but it will give you the basic notes of the song.'

'Okay, I'm curious to see what that Angel Winged Devil supposedly created.' He said in an almost bored tone. He didn't expect that Krad was very a impressive artist, if it was the same man. After all, the Hikari family was notorious for massive artistic genius. If all of Krad Hikari's works were in one notebook stowed away on a dusty, rotting shelf, they must not have been exceedingly extraordinary.

Daisuke nodded and moved the pointer with the touch pad on the laptop and tapped it twice to start the play button on the song. It started slow and almost toneless, but the computer software pushed the notes through the program and suddenly it felt like the very room came alive when the melodies sang the very soul of the writer out. There was such a complex contradiction of notes and the sounds clashed so beautifully that it sounded like a weave of music. He could almost hear the sound of a beautiful tenor voice overlaying Latin words so passionately that it made it seem like it was the very last thing on Earth that he was going to do.

Within his mind, Daisuke knew that Dark was equally as captivated by the music, albeit skewed by the modern program. He could only imagine how grandeur the song would have been, performed by the inexplicable genius that had created such an awe inspiring masterpiece.

"Wow." Whispered a voice that was neither his own or Dark's. Daisuke turned to face the admiring face of his rather strange father. "That is what you were working on in that program?"

The redheaded boy nodded, and allowed his dad to lean over to see the notes and all of the individual chords he had painstakingly sorted into the system. "The song is called-"

"The Whimsical Grail," His grandfather's voice added from the doorway.

'What is this? A damn family meeting?' Dark grumbled, irritated by the interruption while listening to such a soothing song.

"Wait, how do you know its name?" Daisuke asked the very next question that would have come from Dark, had he not been busy getting irritated all over again.

"There's a copy of the song imprinted on the back of one of another Hikari painting, also called The Whimsical Grail." Daiki Niwa explained, looking over Kosuke's shoulder while the younger man picked up the aged book from in front of the computer.

"I looked to see if there was anything on this mysterious book that the two of you found. What I found was virtually nothing. All I know is that this book was made before the Kokuyoku. And the only notation of a musical composure relating to it was written on the back of one painting. This seems to be the one just because it has a more involved construction."

'That makes it even more likely to be the same Krad then…damn, I was hoping it was a freaky coincidence.' Dark said privately to Daisuke.

'You knew it wasn't a freaky coincidence. You went looking for it because you knew.' The red head replied with a chipper tone. He knew it was eating away at his other half, but sometimes Dark was so much of a chiding beast that he couldn't help but chide back now that the opportunity had kindly presented itself.

'I didn't know! I had a hunch, but I knew absolutely nothing, damn it!'

"Hey Dad, can you tell mom that we're going out for a while?" Daisuke asked suddenly, letting his dad feel free to look through the pages of the book. He figured that his dad would find something if anyone did. He may not have been born a Niwa, but he was clearly the best researcher the Niwa family ever had.

"Sure thing, Dai, mind if I let your mother listen to this? This is incredible."

"Oh sure…actually, let me burn it to a CD before we go! We'll take it with us so you can feel free to mess with this one." Daisuke grinned pleasantly. He plucked a CD case from the top of the cluttered desk and opened it quickly to confirm it was blank. Satisfied with his finding, he pulled the glaring disk from the case and popped the disk drive of the laptop open. A few quick clicks and he was ready to burn an audio CD capable of playing on a regular CD player. It would be the best way imaginable to get his point across when…

'Where are we going Daisuke?' Dark interrogated him fiercely once he set the computer to run while he jumped about grabbing his coat and gathering his things.

'We're going to go say hi to Krad.'

A long moment of utter silence followed before a volcano erupted, '**Are you insane**!?' Dark's voice sounded booming in his head and he winced slightly, 'He will kill us dead! **Dead**! He won't even laugh about it either, it'll be too pathetic! Like we walked right into his choke hold and asked him to strangle us to death!'

'Well for your information, Dark, I'm going to talk to Hiwatari, and hopefully he can talk to Krad for us.'

'I still see the "Hiwatari can't control the crazy fucking bastard and he'll change out and strangle us to death" scene happening if you do this!'

'I talk to Hiwatari all the time, Dark! It shouldn't be any different.'

'Except he'll have to wake up our murderer from his precious mind sleep. Then we get to die a loser's death.'

'Are you that afraid of losing to him?'

'Yes! ...I mean shit, no, I'm not afraid of losing to him I'm afraid of him getting involved in this!'

'This is about him!'

'And what if it's the source of his freaking madness! The guy's off his rocker, Daisuke. For all we know, this could be bloody mild. He could be total hell spawn worse than already!'

'We can't rely on records and your memory to solve this. That book is Krad's. It has his name on it. The writing looks like a style a man like him would write. Half of the notes were written the same way he talks! You were the one who magically scoped it out of its hiding spot, so stop worrying. He might even thank you for finding it.'

'Yeah okay…I'm just gonna hand him the knife with which he can stab us. Are you okay with that? I'll even ask him how I should stand when he shanks us in the middle of Hiwatari's apartment.'

'Dark…I don't think he would kill us in the apartment…that would be too messy and not nearly sadistic enough.'

'Don't appreciate his evil habits, for god's sake!'

"Daisuke, your CD finished." Kosuke's voice reached his son's ears and the redhead jumped to attention, ignoring the further protests of his inner half. He took the CD from the computer drive and shut it back into the case so he could carry it with him.

"Thanks dad, don't let mom worry, we'll be back later!" He chirped, waving before he darted out the door, stepping into his shoes on the way out. He trotted along the road, noting how Dark had suddenly gotten quiet again.

'Dark?'

'I'm telling you. I have a bad feeling about this. Something just feels wrong about willingly asking Krad to come play nice with us. Besides, Hiwatari isn't going to want to play this dumb game either!'

'Ah, stop being so negative. We've had the book for a week now...we have an actual composition now that we can use to try to see if he actually knows it. If we don't do anything then what was the point?'

'The point was to stop me from hallucinating about that bastard book every time I think about Krad!'

'Every time you _think _about Krad? Just how often _do_ you think about him?'

'**Daisuke**.' A warning tone and Daisuke knew to lay off the joking.

Daisuke stayed thankfully quiet and didn't question Dark any more afterward. Dark didn't want to have to explain the ill feeling he got when ever he thought about Krad and how every time he tried to picture the man's image in his mind, it never looked like it should. Always smiling, though never did Krad smile wholeheartedly. Krad's smile was more of a sick grin of sadism. But the image he always conjured up spelled a completely different picture.

A growl subconsciously erupted into his mind and he felt a wave of tingling anxiety even in his spiritual form. He didn't want to pursue this…it had just fell onto him because he had been so stricken by that vision of that black book with the gold trim. On the bright side, he was free to fantasize all he wanted about that blonde haired twat and he didn't have seizures about books. And by fantasize he definitely did not mean of the naughty variety. Of course not.

'We're here.' Daisuke's voice crackled in his brain like an electric wave, and he would have jumped if he were on the outside.

'Already?! No way.'

'While you were spacing out, I ran the rest of the way.'

'Why are you getting so crazy over this?'

'I'm making up for your lack of motivation.' Daisuke chuckled in his head before he leaned an arm forward to press the button. He knew that Hiwatari would be home. There was never much the boy had to do on Sunday afternoons and he was grateful for that. So when the door opened slowly and hesitantly, he plastered a smile on his face. He was certain that his friend would be a little surprised to see him. He'd only stopped by once to bring him homework from school, not that he would have any trouble catching up. He was a genius after all. But since that time he'd never really been back to his friend's apartment.

"Niwa?" The blue eyed boy blinked seeing Daisuke Niwa smiling like a rainbow beamed a bucket of skittles into his breakfast that morning. Happy. Ever so happy.

"Hey, Hiwatari. I was kinda hoping you'd give me a minute of your time." He started hesitantly. Getting to the point was crucial with the young commander.

The door opened wider and Hiwatari nodded him into the apartment. "What's wrong?"

A moment of silent phrasing and rephrasing and he finally figured out a way to start this very strange conversation. "First, I have a CD and I was wondering if you'd listen to it for me?"

Hiwatari blinked incredulously. He came over to listen to a CD? What? "Okay, is it a particularly special CD or something?"

"Well…it is, kinda…I can't really tell you yet, do you mind?" Daisuke asked, holding the case out to him. He was relieved when his friend took the CD and starting walking toward the stereo system set up in the living room. The adoptive father, the elder Hiwatari, was never there from what he gathered, and he was thankful for it now.

"This is a really strange request. I just hope you're aware of that." Hiwatari added before he pressed the eject button and the machine came alive, and spit its CD holding tongue out waiting to swallow the CD into its disc reading belly. With a gentle click, the machine closed and whirred while it read the disc. Daisuke waited anxiously as every second passed.

He had already decided to bring the finished song to Hiwatari once it was finished. He just never told Dark that. If he had, Dark would have surely not allowed him to finish putting the music into the computer.

The notes began to sift out of the speaker and much louder and much clearer than before, since before it was on laptop speakers. This however, as the tune progressed, was alarmingly crisper. Alarming. Because the music Daisuke was hearing now, was not even the same instrument he had set it to play. It was as if the song had dictated the sounds it wanted to emit from the system and had changed the data to suit it. This was much more powerful than the flawed computer version.

Hiwatari listened to the song, but didn't hear the song. He heard the very soul of the creation. From deep within him he heard a voice and a steady mantra. _My song.…_

…_.My song…_

…_.My precious song…._

Though wordless in this form, it elevated his very heart. There was a temporary pang of pleasantness before it all shattered. The song was drowned out by a very angry growl. A growl that progressively became louder in Hiwatari's mind until it resembled a screech.

_**Turn that fucking thing off NOW!**_

_**I don't want to hear it anymore!**_

_**If you don't, I will! **_

Hiwatari clutched his head from the painful echoes that his inner half had created with his blaring anger. He could not fathom how a collection of melodies had created such a flare in the usually stoic Angel's temperament. In fact, this was so much of a surprise that he couldn't really focus and winced as the words were yelled louder in his head.

"Hiwatari!" Daisuke called, concerned. He rushed to his friend's side. It was always his first reaction, but he paused seeing Hiwatari's hand held out, meant to keep him away. One of his eyes had bled golden and he knew at that moment that it would be suicide to help the slate haired boy.

'I told you this was a bad idea, Daisuke!' Dark growled, seeing Krad obviously had woken from his sleep within his host and was enraged. Even while he knew bad things would happen, he had not expected it so irrationally violent. As long as he had feuded with the white winged devil, he had known him to be an impassive egomaniac. There was never a time he could remember Krad having any other response with anything other than hatred or sadism. This was clearly neither. Though, he had at least confirmed there was something between the music and his other half.

In a flurry of motion, Hiwatari's hand shot out. Or rather, Krad forced it to. With remarkable intent the boy's fist smashed into the front of the CD player. Daisuke could see the shock of pain that went through Hiwatari's face, but the eyes belonged to Krad. They were glowing golden with anger. A crackling anger that almost made Daisuke want to cower back but he moved forward despite the paralyzing fear that rippled through him.

Half of his friend's body resembled Krad. The eyes, the angry snarl, the threatening fists clenched at his sides. **'How **_**dare**_** you bring that hideous noise into my presence!?' **His voice echoed over Hiwatari's. So pure was his rage against the sounds that he didn't even finish the song and was ready to destroy everything. Within his mind Hiwatari was paralyzed by the unusual display of unbridled fury. Krad was always so contained. Always so analytic about what he was doing. What had Niwa done?

Daisuke backed up and suddenly the world became farther away as he looked through his eyes in a far distant manner. Dark had forced him back and had taken over his body. 'Dark!'

'Relax, amateur. You got us into this mess. I merely intend to keep it from getting worse and I won't hurt your friend.' He promised Daisuke, but he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't put a proverbial whoop ass on Krad.

"Why are you getting your panties in such a twist, Krad. I was just coming to say hi." Dark smirked, trying to rile up the familiar sadistic hunter that Krad had always been when he chased Dark down and threatened his life. But much to his alarm, Krad's anger was more unfaltering than he would have liked.

'**You picked a terrible way to express your pleasantries, **_**Dark Mousy**_**!'**

Dark stepped back, blinking widely. O…kay. This wasn't normal. "Chill the fuck out, Krad. It's a damn song!" He howled, jumping out of the way of a sudden light sphere that had the ability to blow his leg off if it touched.

'_**IT'S MY SONG!' **_

His voice exploded the silence with a furious howl, progressively losing octaves until it was clear that Krad had released Hiwatari from his temporary insanity and hid himself within his host's mind.

Hiwatari gasped. His knees hit the floor and he buckled forward. He felt like his head was on fire. His eyes hurt and he could barely breathe. The raging had surged inside him until he felt Krad completely stop. He blinked slowly. He…stopped? Just like that?

"Hiwatari?" Dark's voice invaded his senses.

The younger of the two gasped for air before he tried to look up at Dark through broken glasses. "He…he stopped."

"Stopped? He must have closed you off then." Dark kneeled, surveying the damage. Being careful not to hurt him, he lifted Hiwatari's hand and noted the busted knuckles and blood crusting as it dried. "He didn't even think this time…"

"He…keep screaming, 'my song' over and over." Hiwatari coughed and allowed Dark to help him up. He would have, under any other circumstance, pushed Dark away and threatened to turn him in to the police; but the thief had found something that had brought out a strange reaction in his little spiritual parasite. "What have you guys done?" He looked up analytically, searching for a clue in Dark's expression.

"We found something that used to belong to a Hikari. And apparently, he's not happy with his masterpiece anymore."

**To be Continued…**

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I do appreciate the encouragement! And my beta The Lantern. I think I fixed all my boo-boos._


	3. A Pleasant Smile

**The Angel's Façade  
**_Chapter Two – A Pleasant Smile_

Hiwatari inspected his wrapped hand and concluded that it was not broken and that Dark had actually done a fairly decent job cleaning it up. That certainly didn't change the fact that Daisuke and his spiritual burden had paraded over—all excited—only to enrage Krad and subsequently get him injured. Not only that, but his stereo was destroyed! "I seriously hope you have a good explanation." He said, sitting on the window sill of his open window.

"Yeah…well we have a long, long conversation ahead of us, if you want a full explanation; and you know, we'd have a whole lot more to talk about if Blondie hadn't run off."

A presence stirred again within Hiwatari. He knew the nature of the presence but the feeling emitting off it did not set right. The being had completely stopped moments prior; but since his hand was wrapped and he had calmed his body, that presence seemed to have decided to leak back in. A quiet whisper flitted across his mind, 'I did not _run_.'

Hiwatari jumped at the eerie nature of his parasite's voice. He was so used to Krad being darker than…well…an angel should, but this wasn't a dark feeling…this was a lost tone. "Well, he doesn't seem to think he ran."

"Please, he went ape shit and tried to destroy everything!" Dark snorted; his tone thick with haughtiness. It was nothing unusual for Dark to use his impressive ego to discreetly call Daisuke on an "I told you so". It seemed Dark and Krad did have a thing or two in common. The biggest of all was the ungodly, unbreakable egotism.

'Dark, he reacted! He probably couldn't help it.' Daisuke tried to reason. 'And he's hurt, please don't make it worse!'

"To top it off, you got your weird little tamer hurt! Chicken shit, come out here and fight if you're so damned tough."

'Dark! Stop it! He's probably freaked out by it!'

"Or I could just _make_ you come ou-"

'Dark!'

"Daisuke! **Shut up**! Damn it!" He said aloud, not caring whether or not Hiwatari was alarmed by his outburst. "You drag me all the way here giving some crazy shit about a guy who's been trying to kill me for centuries and you expect me to be happy when he loses his mind then runs off to sulk about it! I don't give a crap who Krad Hikari is, but I want to know why his book is haunting me and why every time I look at that bastard's face I see someone who he isn't!"

Hiwatari blinked and his eyes widened. He groaned and muttered, "Not again!" He fell forward off the windowsill and prepared for the pain of wings exploding from his back in the usual fashion. But it didn't happen. He could feel himself being pushed back into his own mind, but there was a lack of pain. All he knew was that he was no longer in control of his body.

"Ah hah, so the Blonde asshole makes an entrance." Dark smirked. All he had to do was tick on Krad's indissoluble ego. "You had like, a freaking panic attack and all of a sudden you're Mister up and front? What's the deal?"

"I'm going to kill you! That was the deal!" Krad replied. He darted forward, only to be deftly dodged by the thief. Dark jumped around him and grinned, his back casually to the blonde, but his face turned close to Krad's ear.

"So, _Krad_, what were the words to your song?" Dark whispered in a husky, taunting voice.

Dark looked back to him to see his response, but what he found he had not expected. His blonde counterpart stopped completely and blanked. Absolutely blanked. Dark moved back and stood in front of him. "…Krad?"

The blonde angel blinked a time or two before he looked directly at Dark. "Who are you?"

All of the blood dropped from Dark's face and he felt like he was being hit with something in the face repeatedly. There was no way possible that Krad just looked him in the damned face and _forgot_ him! "Krad…what the hel-"

"Did you hear my song?"

'Daisuke! I'm confused! He's totally lost it!'

'Talk to him Dark!' Daisuke replied. In any other circumstance Dark would have been startled by the forcefulness in his tamer's voice.

"I heard your song. It was…beautiful." Dark said, feeling incredibly stupid babbling in order to get Krad to say something that made sense.

"He always tells me he loves my songs, but no one else says that. Do you like my song?"

Suddenly something felt very heavy about the conversation being played out by Dark and his apparently unconscious other half. Krad wasn't even in his right mind. Judging by the way his pupils were dilated and his eye half lidded, he couldn't have focus. Was he even aware of where he was?

"I liked your song. It…moved me." Dark said, touching his finger tips to his chest to explicate his meaning better.

It was then that Dark saw the image he always some how conjured up when he thought of his counterpart and that damnable book. That pleasant, real smile. He had always envisioned the man's eyes to be focused and express his meaning, but this smile…this was the smile of the Krad who made that book! His heart jumped. There was an overwhelming sadness lacing over that smile as the second passed and eventually the smile faded until all that remained was the blank expression. Krad's face dropped lower, over his eyes with his wild blonde bangs.

"…Krad?" The thief asked after a few seconds of brain rotting silence.

"What have you _done_ to me, Dark Mousy?" Two golden eyes looked back up at him with complete distain. He was flickering back and forth between mentalities.

"You know…I don't even know yet. Daisuke was the idiot who wanted to talk you."

'Hey!' Came the internal protest 'I was trying to heeelp!'

'You be quiet trouble maker.'

"Krad, who were you talking about?"

"Who was I what? I wasn't talking about anyone."

'This is getting annoying Daisuke…it really is.' Dark grumbled irritably. "Krad, for god's sake pay attention." He stepped close enough to place a hand on each of the blonde's shoulders. "Focus for two damned seconds."

"Get your hands off me, thief." Krad growled, but didn't move. At all.

"You were talking about someone. You said this person loved your songs…Who were you talking about?"

'_You have a remarkable talent…'_

'_But I'm not a painter.'_

'_You don't have to be. Music is an art too, Krad.'_

'Dark! Dark! I hear the whispering again!' Daisuke announced and the thief growled. He hadn't freaking heard it!

'That's it. You're gonna have to forgive me for this Daisuke.'

'Dark! What are you going t-'

He let go of Krad's shoulders and moved with swiftness to avoid him reacting and fighting against him. His fist locked with his counterpart's chest with a brutal force. He hadn't wanted to hurt Hiwatari, but he needed Krad down and out for the count when they hauled him back to the Niwas' house.

'Dark!'

'Look,' Dark started, looked down at Hiwatari, who had changed back from the moment he had punched the consciousness out of Krad. 'He's not gonna go willingly at this rate. I just hope I didn't break a rib.'

'What do you mean you hope you didn't break a rib!?'

'I'm teasing you, he's fine.'

'Don't tease like that, you jer-' He trailed off, hearing the whispers again.

'_You've appeared, after all.'_

'_That's right.' _

'_Why?'_

'_I'm the greatest phantom thief of all. Why not? It's no fun stealing the same things all the time.' _

'_I am not a thing.'_

'_No…you're more like an angel. And what man wouldn't want to claim an angel?'_

'_I am not an angel.'_

'_Then tell me, beautiful creature, what are you?'_

'_I am a disease. I do not fabricate beautiful chattels …I do not bequeath light to the darkness…My creations are vacuous and unmoving. Do not touch me…I will destroy you.' _

'**Daisuke**!'

'Ah! Dark! The voices again!'

'Damn it! _Why_ can't **I** hear them!? This freaking sucks!' He frowned and looked down at the form that was now solidly Hiwatari. 'How could a god damned book start this shit!?'

'Stop throwing a conniption fit, Dark! I'm sorry you can't hear it, but if it means anything I think they're memories!'

'Well then why can't I access them!?'

'Maybe…they're not yours…'

'Then why the hell can **you** hear them!?'

'I don't know! Ask Krad!'

'Yeah, remember what happened _last_ time you suggested that remarkably _brilliant_ idea!?'

'At least I tried! You'd rather ignore your instincts and pretend nothing happened! He's mad and most likely it's your fault!'

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' Dark growled fiercely, picturing Daisuke in his head and wanting so badly to strangle him into silence.

"Uhn…." A moan slipped from the captive's throat and Dark brushed Daisuke out of his thoughts temporarily. The younger boy recovered faster than Dark would have liked and he decided he certainly hadn't hit him hard enough. "Why are there people...talking…?" Hiwatari whispered, not trying to move much, but shifting in Dark's grip.

Dark's face contorted into a snarl and he visibly clenched his jaw and his teeth ground together. Even the weird little freak child could hear the voices…For once he was the only sane sounding person…and it was pissing him off! "Damn all three of you!" He howled and lifted Hiwatari off his feet and effortlessly tossed the poor boy over his shoulder. A helpless yelp erupted from the young Commander. His ribs were sore and the sudden pressure made his abdomen feel similar to someone dropping hot coals on a floor made of tissue paper. Dark chose to ignore it. The brat had shown he was tough before. As many times as he'd gotten into a fight with him, without Krad's help, he should be tough. Hell, he'd almost gotten him a time or two.

"With!" He called, summoning the bunny eared, flying critter as he opened the door to the apartment and slammed it shut on his way out. Who cared if they thought he was kidnapping Hiwatari. Who cared if he left the door unlocked…Who gave a freaking damn at that point? He sure didn't. He almost wanted to break into his trademark grin once With morphed into his black wings and he took flight, alarming the people who happened to witness his ascension. This mystery, long time in the waiting, was making his brain tick unpleasantly. He didn't like the anxious feeling. He hated the secrecy. And worst of all, he was fucking confused!

"Daaark!" Hiwatari choked, "You're going….too …fast!"

"We'll be there in a second, brat, just hold on for that long." Dark called back. He didn't want to slow his pace. The faster he got his 'victim' back to the Niwas, the faster he could pin the little bastard down and corner Krad. He was certain Kosuke would have some sort of knowledge he could use to keep Krad from hiding in the deep recesses of his host's mind.

'You better not hurt him Dark!'

'Daisuke…for the last time! Be quiet! He's fine. He's been through worse. Once we get back I'm cornering his freakish ass though. Keep in mind, you brought this on!'

'I didn't mean for you to punch my friend's lights out!'

'It was Krad, not Hiwatari. And if you're so worried about him then I'll just let you two play, while I torture the Blonde bastard.'

'…Wait…what?'

'I'm certain there's a way to pull Hiwatari out of that body for a while. Kosuke will tell us for sure…Then Krad won't be able to hide. You and Hiwatari can go into some cute corner of your spazzy little mind and make out or whatever you freak children do.'

'**Dark**!'

'Stop being such a baby!'

"…Dar…k…" Hiwatari's voice came out very quiet against the air resistance. Dark looked back to the slate haired boy, wondering what he wanted now. But he decided it was serious when he took in the slight yellow tint to the boy's normally cerulean eyes. "He's…crying…Dark…Why?"

Landing hard on the rooftop of the Niwa house, Dark lowered Hiwatari and carefully allowed him to fold his legs under him so he could sit and not tumble over and off the roof. The dark haired thief stared down at him and repeated the words in his head. 'He's…crying…'

Those blue eyes lost the sheen of gold and stared up at him as pure as the sky, "What are you doing to him, Dark? What did you do?!" Those words were not spoken in worry of his 'curse'. They were spoken in fear of the being's unpredictable response.

"Look, I don't have time to explain yet. Something happened in the past and it's revealing itself to us now. If I don't figure out this puzzle…then he's probably going to result in your death! So just cooperate okay?"

Hiwatari eyed the master thief as he opened his hand to help him up. He didn't like the pain that he surged through his body when they had tested his crazed inner persona. He didn't like the irrationality the blonde demon displayed. How a simple song had detonated into such an extreme production had left him very hesitant. The less they aggravated Krad, the better. Hesitantly, he accepted Dark's outstretched hand and allowed himself to be pulled up to a standing position, though still wary of his aching ribs.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. This was Daisuke's idea. He didn't think Krad would react. I, unfortunately, did." Dark apologized. It wasn't hard to see the insecurity in the blue eyed boy. He couldn't blame him either. After all, he didn't even live with the psycho bastard, and he knew Krad was nothing if not a handful.

'You never said you thought he'd react so badly!' Daisuke cried indignantly, knowing he was being blamed for something that he knew Dark could have stopped him from doing if he really wanted to.

'Like you would have believed me! You didn't even ask me if we should show him!'

'Well you didn't tell me about the book in the first place! Not until after you found it!'

'You won't understand half of it!'

'You won't let me!'

Dark growled, unaware that his growl carried on into the physical world, 'Just shut up Daisuke, this is my problem apparently. Not yours!'

'This is my body Dark! This is my problem because you are my friend! And Hiwatari is my friend too! Krad shares a body with him, so that makes his business my business!'

"Daisuke, shut the hell up!" Dark howled. He startled Hiwatari, who had almost backed out of his grip. The thief's hold on the boy's hand kept him from sliding off and plunging down on to the balcony, which would have been a far enough slide to severely hurt or even kill anyone who fell at a bad angle. "Whoa, sorry Hiwatari."

The slate haired boy made no indication that the sudden yelling had caused him any real grief, but he whispered: "He's…he's getting angry again…"

"Shit, for real?" Dark gritted, knowing that Krad had a tendency to let things fester until he literally popped. Whether this was just literally temporary insanity or a compilation of all the things that pissed him off, he wasn't sure. He winced at the sudden pressure of Hiwatari's grip. "Ow…god…Krad, you're breaking my hand." He grimaced, but the words almost came off as casual. If he could at least stop Krad from flickering to and fro with Hiwatari's body, they'd be freaking set.

"Good." The blonde replied, but the tone was unusually calm. "Because I'll hurt you twice as badly if you don't stop whatever hex you put on me."

Dark looked at him with almost vexed amazement, "I didn't do a damn thing to you! You started acting retarded after I found your stupid book!"

"That's not my book!" Golden eyes held the evidence of denial, but fierce disregard.

"It has your name on it! You said they were your songs!"

"No! They're not my songs, it's not my book, I hate the Hikari, and I never loved you!" He hissed and wrenched his hand out of the thief's loosened grip. In those amethyst eyes held the sum of his scattered shock.

Dark's vision suspended and again he saw the soft, pleasant face of a being that didn't look like yet was twin to the Krad he knew. A gentle smile, but pained eyes…so this mysterious image he had of Krad at least held one similar feature to the being he was so familiar with. Had opening that closed off house, littered with the spirits of the lost works…had opening that book…or playing that song…brought back a time that had actually been forcefully forgotten on purpose? He blinked at the stupid possibility. A week certainly would have been enough time for Krad to collect enough scattered remnants of the past to drive him haywire. More so than he already was.

"Krad…I…" He tried to say something but he couldn't get any words out before he slid when a tile that lost its ability to withstand the pressure and broke loose. He hit the tile with his full body and struggled to find a quick grip to keep from tumbling the rest of the way down. His alarm then focused on the other being that had been lower on the roof than he. He couldn't react fast enough to stop the blonde from stumbling backward and going right over the edge of the roof, aimed straight down on the hard balcony.

Daisuke screamed out in their shared mind, 'Hiwatari!'

Fear surfaced violently in Dark and his own scream echoed into the sky, knowing that Krad was going backward down and worse off likely to fall and break his neck from that height. "**KRAD**!"

**To be Continued…**

_Thanks go to deadrat309 for reading over my chapters to catch my characterization issues! Also, thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	4. Fragmentation

**The Angel's Façade**

_Chapter Three – Fragmentation_

Blackness. That was all he could see in the moments after he hit the stone balcony. There was a wave of pain that shot through his neck and straight down his spine. He couldn't see, but he blinked. His eyes were open but his senses were knocked out of whack. Within his mind, the body's original owner was oblivious to the pain, but fully aware of what had happened.

'Krad? Krad! You didn't switch back!'

'It….hurts…Master…Satoshi…' There was a quiet ache in the deeper voice that he was certain had nothing to do with the impromptu fall off the roof. He couldn't bring himself to ask something that personal about his pain, but his concern lied in how hurt his—no their—body was.

'Let me take over, Krad.'

'No, Master Satoshi, this pain is more than you can handle.'

'Can you move?'

'Not yet.' The blonde replied, trying to move his arm. He had tried to grab the edge of the roof, but only succeeded in creating a long gash down the front from the inside of the elbow to his palm. He could feel the warm liquid forming a thick ooze over his lower arm. He felt a sensitive tingling at his left shoulder, assuming that had been the place he had struck the floor of the balcony, almost eleven feet down from the roof. Had he not been so distracted, he could have relied on his wings to break his fall and would have suffered from, at most, a broken wing. But as he struggled to move he realized that he had much more to worry about. With great effort, he bent a knee up. There was no soreness in that, but the strenuous labor required to achieve it had left him barely able to breathe. It felt like his whole abdominal cavity was bruised just from the shock of the hit. His head felt heavy and he was certain he had smashed it against something on the way down.

Twitching his fingers, he tried to lift his left arm up. A terrible pain shot through the arm and he groaned unceremoniously. That had been the arm he had tried to break his fall with, but found he had only achieved damage to the elbow. 'I'm going to kill that bastard.' He muttered, grinding his teeth very slightly.

'Both arms…are they broken? I can't feel anything at all!'

'I'm not letting you feel any pain. I told you that it was too much for you.'

'It's my body!

'Don't fight me, Master Satoshi. I _will_ win.'

There was a brief moment of silence…'Why did you say that to him?'

'Say what?'

'That it wasn't your book…or song…that you hate the Hikari?'

'Because I do hate the Hikari, and I refuse to claim a piece of that accursed family.'

'I hate the family too. I didn't want a piece of it, but I got you.'

There was a silence that Hiwatari hadn't expected. He had anticipated a teasing, or taunting, but instead he got a silent treatment that felt even heavier and less pleasant. He didn't want to tread on thin ice, but it was his body that was hurt and he would have to endure the most of it. 'What did you mean when you said you never loved him?'

'You're quite intrusive, Master Satoshi.' Krad's tone was ill-mannered. An invisible wall seemed to have elevated the moment Hiwatari had asked.

"Krad? Krad!? Oh dear god, he's bleeding!" A voice echoed from a distance.

'At least he's smart enough to realize we're injured.' Krad snorted ungracefully. He made an obvious attempt to avoid Hiwatari's question.

"Hey? Blondie? Can you hear me?" Dark asked, checking the blonde's pulse and breathing rate. He was showing signs of consciousness, but he was sluggish even just blinking. "Can you talk?"

"H…h…urts…" So low and broken was the whisper that Dark almost didn't hear it. He might have missed it if his face hadn't been inches from the blonde demon's. He was personally amazed that Krad had not switched with his host. Instead he was bearing the consequences of their badly planned 'rendezvous' on the roof. Dark had not been prepared for Krad's appearance and certainly not for Krad to get so defensive and push him away so stupidly.

Dark was exceptionally careful with Krad's limbs as he tried to move the arms so they wouldn't bleed so much. One looked more twisted, while the other was bleeding profusely. He stood and looked over him carefully. He didn't like leaving him there for anything, but he knew better than to move a fall victim. If he had a severe spinal injury then moving him could potentially kill him. "Krad, I'm not leaving you. I'll be right back. I need to get some help. I can't move you without fear of hurting you." He stepped back and turned toward the glass door that closed off the open air from Daisuke's bedroom. He needed to find Kosuke.

Kosuke was the most likely to determine the severity of his injury…To top it off, he was a very practical man and _less_ likely to do something rashly out of emotion, like Emiko. Not to mention, he was certain Emiko wasn't even home yet. He pried open the door, unsnapping the lock with a pick from his vest. Like is own door would be a challenge... He slid it open with enough force to make the shelves on the wall rattle from the force of the door slamming on the stop at the end of the slider track.

He flew out of that room faster than his legs could carry him. He was in a freaking hurry! "**KOSUKE**!" His voice penetrated every inch of the Niwa house and he was sure he'd startled several of the occupants who were probably not expecting such a sudden return. Stopping in the hall, he heard the sound of footsteps.

"Daisuke?!" Kosuke's voice called back. He met Dark halfway down the hall, stopping long enough to take in that it was Dark and not Daisuke. "Dark? What's wrong?" Kosuke took a breath, alarmed by the sudden shout and trying to calm his heart for whatever was to follow.

"I don't have time for long explanations, but Hiwatari—Krad fell off the roof and onto the balcony! I think he's really hurt! He landed really awkwardly! I didn't want to move him because I didn't want to hurt him." He said, grabbing the black haired man by the arm and directing him toward Daisuke's room, which led to the balcony.

His mind reeled as he rushed back through the door. The moment he took in the sight of Krad's body lying on the balcony, his brain short circuited. All he could see was a vague image of that same person, lying at the foot of a large Hikari artwork…He surrounded by a pool of blood. He was unresponsive. He was dead. Dark felt like his feet were glued to the floor and he watched Kosuke run out to Krad, but he couldn't shake the horror…the familiar site of that being bleeding. Blood…

'Dark! Dad's calling you! He says we can move him!'

…_A knife… _

'Dark?

…_A painting…_

'Dark?!'

…_Red…_

'Dark, can you hear me?'

…_Death…_

'DARK!'

…_Death?_

Dark snapped back to focus. He had lost focus for long enough to alarm Daisuke. He had tuned out the boy for quite a time after he watched in horror as Krad slipped off the roof. He kept replaying the images in his mind. Over and over he tried to see how he'd missed grabbing his hand. He'd scrambled to the edge of the roof, trying to catch his arm or leg or something. However, he missed and Krad crashed to the hard stone balcony. Not even an angel could avoid such a solid fall. And going down practically head first…

'Daisuke…I don't know what to do now!'

'Stay by him, Dark! You said you weren't leaving him.' Daisuke could not bring himself to tell him the whispers he heard that time. He was starting to make more sense of it and he didn't want to demoralize Dark…

'_You stupid bastard! You killed my little brother!' _

'_I…I…no…god…no…'_

'_You destroyed him! He did this because of you!'_

'…'

'_You Niwa do nothing but destroy us!' _

'He's so out of it, Daisuke…' Dark whispered mentally. He was helping Kosuke move what was essentially Hiwatari's body, but Krad in literal meaning. Kosuke ad been able minded enough to pull a sleeping blanket from the closet. There was no way they could get Krad up into Daisuke's bed and care for him up there. So instead they had moved to place a thick, layered sleeping futon in the center of Daisuke's floor. Cradling Krad's head, Kosuke and Dark moved him from the balcony to the temporary 'bedding'.

'Talk to him Dark! God I hope Hiwatari is okay…' There was an intense wave of worry that emitted from Daisuke. He was such a loving person that Dark had wondered how he had restrained his freaking out this long. He either had no fear of Hiwatari being hurt, or he trusted Krad's ability to make sure they survived. Knowing for certain that Krad was the only reason that frail body hadn't completely folded upon impact, Dark figured that Daisuke had faith in Krad… It still seemed freakish for his host to trust his crazed counterpart, but Daisuke always felt there was a righteous, loving being inside even the most horrid creatures.

Once Kosuke was certain that Krad was in an easier and more comfortable position, he stood to leave the room quickly enough to grab as much medical supplies as he could. Dark knew what Kosuke was doing without the man having to explain it. He couldn't rightly request that they cart Krad to the hospital after all. It was clear that Krad would suffer Hiwatari's pain. It would be impossible to keep him from doing such and that would be an impossible thing to explain to the hospital and police why Hiwatari suddenly changed appearances after falling off a roof and landing against a solid stone balcony flood, with almost a certain guarantee that he'd cracked his head against the unusually decorative polished wood attachments just over the balcony.

He hadn't wanted to think that had happened. He had told himself and prayed that he only fell and was stunned and a little hurt. But most of the thief knew that Hiwatari—no Krad had tried to grab on to something only to be pulled by gravity against a prop-like angled wooden piece that acted to keep the overhang of the roof from looking structurally unsound. He would have hit his head pretty hard too.

"Krad?" Dark whispered close to the blonde's ear. He ran a hand through those golden locks, pushing them out of the falling being's face. "Can you hear me?"

"…Ye…s." A breathless whisper was all he needed for an answer.

"Listen to me...Kosuke's going to try to mend you as best he can until you're good enough to let Hiwatari out. Please don't try to move…He's a good guy."

'He's asking me not to hurt his host's father, how cute.' Krad chuckled at the sentiment.

'He's trying to help you, though I sure wouldn't in his place.'

'Dear Master Satoshi, he's doing this for you. Certainly not me. I wouldn't help me in his place either.'

Hiwatari couldn't shake the strange feeling he got from Krad. For the last week he'd been acting differently, but the real face didn't show intensely until he heard that song. Then, what he thought had been his imagination had proved to be actual voices he was hearing. Someone was talking and it was as if he had happened upon a spiritual radio frequency that he wasn't supposed to have happened on. He never said anything, because he assumed that Krad did not hear them or was choosing to ignore them.

'Krad, I want you to talk to me.'

'This is certainly a first, Master Satoshi.'

'Stop being a smart ass. You keep changing your mind…This song is yours…this song isn't yours… Tell me about this song that Niwa brought!'

For a moment or two, Hiwatari thought Krad had simply retreated to sleep or otherwise attempted to get out of answering him. But a mental sigh made him very aware that Krad was still there and strangely enough, not amused or pleased with this predicament. 'It is called "The Whimsical Grail." It was written to be given to someone. It was the second greatest piece that…'

'..You made…'

'If you'd like to say that, Master Satoshi. It was never given to the person to whom it was intended to be gifted.'

'Who was it supposed to be given to?'

'I don't know.'

Hiwatari scowled. He knew that his other persona knew exactly where it was supposed to go, but that man would never cooperate with him if it killed him. He couldn't rightly blame Krad. If everything he'd heard in whispers since that day a week before had been true, then Krad was bearing more demons than he wanted to give the psychopath justification for. However, it was unfair to try and press Krad, even if he knew that there was only one real escape Krad had from him.

'Okay, fine…One way or another Dark will figure it out and I'll have him tell me.'

'Not if I kill him first. He is the very last being I wish to invade upon what I am responsible for causing.'

Looking into a shadowy mental image of Krad, he could almost see a touch of remorse within those crazy golden eyes. Fragmented was how his mind seemed and he was even more mysterious this way than before when he said nothing and left nothing to the imagination. Was whatever happened so horrific that he had forcibly made himself detached to the point where he himself was not quite certain? That thought flickered in the slate haired boy's mind as the days went by and the voices got louder. His heart ached a little thinking of the possibly similar feelings the two of them had shared on a wavelength that was so in tune that neither had noticed it. He had suffered his whole life being isolated because he could not bear to let anyone he might have cared about within Krad's reach.

But was the reality truly that Krad hadn't wanted anyone within his reach because of his own secluded misery? He had certainly done a fantastic job of helping Hiwatari push people out of the boy's life. Had these people been a catalyst for a deeper torture that was the true cause of the angel's madness? Or was it that he was oversimplifying it or misjudging his own analysis?

'Krad…I don't know what I'm supposed to say to you. You've never been a being that I enjoyed having in my life…but…Isn't there a chance that you don't to hate me or enjoy hurting me?'

'Master Satoshi, you are all wrong. I neither hate you nor wish to harm you. In fact, I love you very dearly.'

'I'm being serious! Stop mocking me!'

A brief contemplating hesitance came before Krad's spiritual form wrapped his arms around Hiwatari's form. 'Oh I am very serious. With every generation I have tried and tried. You are the only one who spoke to me… You are the only one who did not enslave me.'

'…Enslave…you?'

'I am the scourge of the Hikari. A curse. A repulsive hex. A Judas among the holy. Even as the generation thins and leaves only a single member of the Hikari, the words remained as true as day and not a single male member who has hosted me has forgotten the stories passed from his father, from his father's father. They were so meticulous they hadn't even allowed time to alter the tale. I betrayed the Hikari.'

'Betrayed…?'

"Krad? Hey, are you in there? I need you to open your eyes for a second." Dark's voice echoed and Krad returned to the consciousness of their shared body. Hiwatari was left to pick apart the meanings of Krad's words. He had spoken so much in such a short period of time that he was unable to digest it. Krad was never open. Never. Not once before that song shattered his resolve, had Krad been open enough to actually tell him anything.

Those golden eyes fluttered open with dismal effort. He much preferred the resting quiet of his Master Satoshi's mind. Instead he got the loud egomaniac with a strong penchant for kleptomania. "What….do…you want…you…bastard?" He gritted, trying to steady his breathing. His chest hurt and he could only fathom that it was caused by the tile smashing him in the ribs before he slipped over the edge of the roof, only to miss grabbing his target and have the wind knocked out of him when his shoulder hit the hard stone. Who the fuck made that balcony so hard anyway?

"At least you're not so dead that you can't smart mouth me." Dark chuckled. Krad could make no visible response when Dark ran an ungloved hand through his flaxen hair. His fingers caressed the tender locks; worshipping the perfection that he had attained in his appearance if nothing else. "Kosuke got yours arms bandaged while you were spacing out in that head of Hiwatari's and you didn't even notice." He snorted. "You frightened us Krad-honey. Daisuke is worried sick for you." Dark added, pressing a fair cluster of the blonde's hair to his lips in adulation.

"Don't…call me that." Krad's eyes refused to focus on Dark's face. His unnaturally calm façade shattered in the face of his eternal rival, _Dark Mousy_.

"What do I call you Krad?" Dark leaned closer to Krad's head until his mouth was almost next to his ear. "What did I _used_ to call you Krad?" Dark sat back, folding his legs under him. There was no possibility of jarring into him yet. Krad's body was Hiwatari's body and if nothing else, Daisuke would have an epic fit if Dark tried to corner Krad in the condition he had helped put himself in.

"Krad…I don't know what the hell happened four hundred years ago. I see flashes in my head, but there's nothing to go with it. What did you do? I looked at you and I saw blood. And I saw a painting and _death_." He said slowly, knowing that Kosuke was making himself scarce long enough for Dark to get his burning question out of his mind. Had that image been…?

"What do you…want me…to say?" Krad return with a question. He was having an easier time talking, but it wasn't easy talking to Dark in any situation. And with this one…He'd have rather stuck his head in a pot of boiling water.

"I want you to tell me the truth."

'What is he talking about, Krad?' A voice edged with curiosity added to his unnerved resistance.

Krad looked up at Dark with a laziness he'd never shown anyone in neither this life nor any previous. Dark too had flashbacks, it seemed. However, if he had to ask…then he knew nothing. There was a perfectly good reason why such a detailed portion of that past had been kept from Dark.

"You mean my suicide, Dark?" A sickeningly deceptive smile played along the lips of Dark's opposite.

**To be Continued…**


	5. Introspection

**The Angel's Façade  
**_Chapter Four – Introspection_

"Rest assured, Dark," That lustrous voice purred, "I was the cause of my own demise."

The violet haired thief could only stare down at the opposite being and try to let it truly sink in. He had let that concept fester in his mind for long enough to possibly push it out and finally upon asking he was almost surprised to find that his first impression seeing that flash of memory in his mind was true. Krad had killed himself. Not a Hikari…Not a Niwa. He had been the one to choose his death. Dark had thought he'd figured it out…

Watching Kosuke bandage Krad, while the man was probably talking to his weird little host, he had thought that perhaps Krad had died in a scuffle with the Niwa over the Kokuyoku. Perhaps he'd been there….and perhaps the original Kokuyoku had been tainted… All Dark knew was that that massive painting had not been the beginning of their life, no matter how muddled the story may have become.

'…He…committed suicide?' Daisuke asked, his voice explicated the shiver that would have trailed his body had he been in control.

'That's what he's saying…' The phantom thief's words seemed merely to alert Daisuke that he was paying enough attention to know that the boy spoke. His mind was too wrapped around Krad's words…and his sick smile. He smiled, recalling his own death!

"What…What more do you aspire from me Dark? I cannot access my own memories beyond the given until you have liberated yours. We are connected, you and I. I can tell you nothing more than that I was not born this repulsive creature and that I put an end to myself in the life previous bestowed upon me."

"Re-repulsive?! What the hell are you saying!?" Dark barked at him, forgetting momentarily that Krad had no way of shirking away from his unusual display of behavior.

"Do you like who you are?" Krad asked. This freakish complacency sent warning lights on in his head.

"You certainly don't like who I am."

"Perhaps I detest your very presence…but do_ you_ like who you are?"

A furrowed brow expressed the confusion also detectable within those violet eyes. "Of course I do!"

"You and I are very different,_ Mousy_, you like who you are. I do not like what I am."

"You say it like you're just an object."

"And what, pray tell, should I lead myself to believe I am? I once thought absurdly how envious I am of Daisuke Niwa. He has the capacity to exonerate wrongs done to him. Whereas I have been beaten into bearing a grudge that I sought to end by my own blood spilt. He can love with the soul of a beautiful person…I cannot feel the same for anyone ever again."

"Sure you can, Krad!" Dark tried to place an encouraging smile and tone, but it seemed that the atmosphere was too heavy for it. Krad knew more than he let on, but perhaps he was merely biding his time before he had to allow the rest to flow.

"Don't asphyxiate me with your foolish confidence. You brought this on yourself. If you'd neglected that...piece of junk in the Hikari mansion then this would have never happened."

'Holy crap we were in the Hikari mansion!? Then that explains why-'

'Not now Daisuke!' Dark hushed the alarmed boy before he could get distracted. "I went to it because it was calling to me! You sealed it didn't you? You hardheaded bastard!"

"Who else, half-wit? Obviously it was not enough because you still ascertained it." Krad fell silent for a moment and he closed his eyes. His breathing was soft and rhythmic and is body was in a state of almost an aching comfort. He didn't want to move any time soon. "Bring me the infernal thing." He said suddenly.

"The book?"

"No, your head on a silver platter…yes the book, you idiot."

"You can't even sit up on your own and you're down talking me?"

'Dark, just work with him please.' Daisuke asked softly. He had just as much stake in this as Dark, considering they shared an existence. He wanted to know what the truth behind this, for at least Hiwatari's sake.

'Fine, but he's already pissing me off…' Dark grumbled and frowned at Krad. "Once you're healthy again, I'm kicking your ass." He whispered.

"Go ahead and try."

Dark stood and left Krad. He passed Kosuke, who had taken that as his cue to reassess Krad's stability. He had not broken either arm, thankfully; but he had certainly attained a bump on the head in the fall and bruised his shoulder. His knuckles were injured, but that was clearly from earlier. The other arm had been badly gashed and would have to be monitored very closely to stop the profuse bleeding. Kosuke smiled softly, watching Dark leave to find the book that he'd last seen in the kitchen, in front of the laptop.

"So, I take it you're not very pleased with all of this." The gentle man kept a soft smile on his pleasant visage. He wanted to provide a positive figure for Krad to turn to while Dark was being his usual stubborn self.

"Would you be? I can't really move. So I have no choice but to look at his obnoxious face."

Kosuke chuckled, "You sound less angry and more tired."

"I fell off a roof. Not to mention didn't even think to stop my own fall. I blame Dark for this as well."

"May I ask what else you blame him for?"

Krad eyed Daisuke's father with simple curiosity. From his position lying flat, with only a thin futon mattress between him and the floor, he saw a pleasant aura radiating from the man. He was just like Daisuke Niwa; a positive figure with a penchant for drawing away negativity. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason, really. I just see a little hurt in your expressions. You may be more like Dark than you think. Just in a slightly different way."

"What's that supposed to imply?" A faint irritation flickered across Krad's face.

"You are quite bound to taking all the pain in yourself, aren't you? That's either massively masochistic, or you have some emotional center keeping you from drawing up a bad past onto everyone else."

"…You must be the smart Niwa."

"I'm not a Niwa by birth. I am an outsider looking in. Which is why I feel just as available to you as well as Dark."

"Are you offering consolation to me?"

Checking the wraps carefully, the dark eyes man nodded briskly, "I am. I offered my help to your tamer. But he, like you, is very stubborn and didn't open up to me. I don't think you will either, but I'd like to think I tried my best to be an option. Dark is a fantastic thief, but he is also an undeniable incarnation of stubbornness."

"I can agree to that." Krad closed is eyes. He didn't feel threatened by this man. This man was not a Niwa and some how he knew that already. "What do I call you?"

"You can well me Kosuke. I don't think you would appreciate calling me Niwa. Now would you?"

"Not particularly."

He tried to focus his mind and block out the stinging sensations continued to plague him like an irritable tick, constantly humming unpleasantly. He was to far close to unlocking the long distant past that had gotten them into this unfortunate circumstance. He had always figured that it was better left a forgotten past, once the curse saw through to the last Niwa and the last Hikari, then there would be nothing left and the curse and past would die.

Regrettably, this had not been the way it had seemed to play out. He could still hear the voices and almost could see the people and places.

'_Come on Krad, come with me just once.'_

'_Are you out of your stupid mind?! You want me to come with you to steal my own family's works! That's more insane than you usually are!'_

'_I'm insane? You're the freak who punched my lights out because I came through the window.'_

'_The wrong window, numskull!' _

'_Your brother didn't even know I was there.' _

'_You're going to get caught doing stupid stuff like that! I told you I would meet you outside!' _

'_But then _you're_ going to get caught! That's not much better.'_

'_Dark! Just listen to me for a change. Or so help me if I ever even look at your stupid face again!'_

'_Stubborn ass.'_

'_You more than me!'_

'_Heh…I love the fuck outta you, sometimes.'_

'_You…damn it…Don't change the subject Dark!' _

Krad blinked. He couldn't shake the multitude of flashbacks he'd suffered since that apparent day Dark had uncovered his secret hidden within the Hikari mansion. 'Oh I should have killed that bastard when he tried to kidnap me the first time.' He said, mostly to himself.

'But you didn't.'

'Ah, Master Satoshi. It's so pleasant to hear your lovely voice.' Krad spoke in facetious pleasantness.

'You are a parasite. And why are you taking advantage of the Niwas' kindness?'

'I don't know what you're implying.'

'You're not fooling anyone, Krad. You're hiding the pain from me because it's not nearly as bad as you want me to believe.'

'My, my, you certainly are the genius, Master Satoshi.' The blonde cradled Hiwatari within his mind. He couldn't help the delighted smirk that edged his face onto a place of almost insanity. Krad had never had all of his screws in tightly even before the incidences he would prefer to completely erase. There was always a sliver of lunacy in him that just being a Hikari had instilled. Dark had merely been an unwanted break into a different form of madness.

'Krad, what do you think you're doing?! Give me my body back.'

'No can do, my lovely host. If I can pique that bastard's curiosity I can do away with him and end this.'

'But if he dies, so will you!' Hiwatari argued. There had always been that. The notion that Dark's death would kill him as well. Yes…such was true, but he never exactly expressed that his form of 'life' wasn't in death. Dark's destruction would give him life in a form far too complicated for a simple fourteen year old—though genius in his own right—to understand.

'Master Satoshi…my death, as I am certain you heard, is nothing of real presence in my mind. I ended my life in a much less pristine fashion. Why would this be any different?'

'Stop…Stop talking about it like there's nothing wrong with it!'

'Would you like me to brood over it, Master Satoshi? I apologize, but that's just not my style. What is done is done. Why let it fester?'

Hiwatari fell silent again. Unable to gain control of his body as usual alarmed him at first. Normally it was a matter of will power that released him from Krad's hold. But it seemed that Krad's will power was the dominant one this time. He was certain it had something to do with this supposed broken seal that brought back every piece of history that he had seemed determined to keep locked in that house of death. Hiwatari hated being a part of it. He wanted to make Krad disappear, not bring about a refreshed and more unsystematic version of the same creature that sought to take his body from him; though the purpose of that he never had made clear to him.

"Here's your book." Dark's voice erupted into the silence. "What do you want me to do with it?"

Krad's rich voice delivered his answer after a moment of thought, "Open it. Since generally that is one does to make use of a book."

Dark repressed a bark, but grit his teeth instead. "You know what…Daisuke can't stop me if I decide to off you right now."

"You enjoy living too much." Krad's eyes dared Dark to deny it, and as he thought, Dark made no effort to disclaim Krad's statement. "Open it to the thirtieth page. The page numbers should be written in German, but you can read that. Read me that passage."

"What do you think I am?! Your bitch?!"

"You are the reason I fell from the roof."

"I am n-"

'Dark! He is right! It's because of us that he got hurt, just please listen to him!'

With a frown, Dark started shifting through pages. "You know, I'm only doing this because Daisuke feels sorry for you. Though, I don't understand. He seems to think there's hope for you." He continued to thumb through the hand written pages. The book had much more in it than he had thought. Daisuke had been the one playing around with it. Once he'd found it, he hadn't cared anymore. He was content to let it sit and decay.

"He's very compassionate, but he's also very wrong. I am far beyond help."

"You don't know that." The thief replied without thinking about the words he had let fall out his mouth.

"I assure you. Even if I'm not beyond help, I'm beyond your desire to 'fix' me." Those golden eyes said with certainty. "Now, read the passage."

Dark scowled but looked down. He felt a tinge of guilt toward Krad…well, more toward Hiwatari. He pressed his finger on the first word and traced the sentences as he read.

"_The first snow fell, the first day of the year_

_He reached in my window, I reached away_

_He wanted in, and I needed escape_

_A lamenting exchange of a sorrowful play_

_What does he see, looking at me?_

_A lone figure perched by an icy sill_

_Locked in a room, frozen behind glass_

_Colder in here than in the Tempest's chill _

_Come sweet fortune and take him_

_Away from my wretched song._

_Krad Hikari."_

"My very early attempt at English," Krad said, appreciating the language barrier the hosts had. Master Satoshi would pick up some words, but he doubted the Niwa boy knew English.

"What the hell does this mean?" Dark announced his question loudly and furiously confused. He read the words again. He knew there must be significance in this passage if Krad specifically pointed it out to him.

"Some things cannot be spelled out _Mousy_. You must infer. When I sealed these things away, I did a good job. My intention was to cease to exist before anyone ever figured out how to release my seal."

Dark's violet eyes studied Krad for any clues. He could only hide his own surprise for so long. He hadn't considered that this was something that didn't want to be found. The book called out to him after all. Perhaps that wasn't an intentional feature. Perhaps the book had actually retained its creator's spirit within it enough to rebel against the wishes of the binder. It had certainly made him find it and apparently leaked out memories progressively. Here was the most important question: 'did Dark want to know?' Did he want to understand his predicament beyond what they were made to believe? Did he want to know what really happened to the Niwas and Hikaris? Did he really wish to find out what happened that last day? What he had with Krad? Why he wanted, not to fight with Krad, but to be at peace with him? And…and what could possibly have made such a strongly appearing man commit suicide?

Did he want to know?

…Well fuck yeah, he wanted to know.

"Well, until I figure this out, you're not going anywhere." Dark announced. "So get comfortable."

"If I wished to leave, you couldn't contain me, thief." Krad stated casually, his eyes half lidded and seemingly devoid of any lively spark. He was unaffected by Dark's declaration, but he didn't show any movement that would suggest he had plans to leave. He had no intention to leave anyway.

Dark frowned and folded his arms. "You've got to be the most depressing person I've ever met, and that is sad coming from a man that looks like a damn angel."

Krad looked up slowly, "And it's probably your fault that I am this way. How does that make you feel, _Mousy_?" A gentle smirk touched the lips of that golden angel.

"If it's my fault, Krad, then I'll just have to _fix _you, then won't I?" There was a challenging edge in Dark's tone. He didn't want to think he really was responsible for this crazy bastard's insanity, but he couldn't deny the possibility.

"You do not listen, I already told you that you cannot fix me."

"You don't know yet, Krad. I can steal anything, and if I have to steal a miracle to make you not such a hate-filled, depressing, asshole, then I will."

"Good Luck."

'_Good luck, Dark.'_

'_I don't need luck, baby. I got skill and even if I muck it up, I'll be fine. After all, I got an angel praying for me,' A tender kiss was placed on a pale hand as the thief perched the window sill, standing before the 'angel'._

'_If you get killed, I will not forgive you.' _

'_I can't die before I steal my biggest treasure of all.'_

'_Which is?'_

'_You, but of course. I will steal you from this prison and make you the keeper of my castle.'_

'_You make me sound like a princess from a fairytale.' _

'_No. You're much more glorious than that. Like stealing an archangel from God.'_

'_Stop that! You're making me uneasy with all this ridiculous talk. Now go…and Dark…be careful.'_

'_I told you, baby. I got the skills. I'll be back, my angel.' _

Dark opened his eyes without even noticing that he'd closed them. His dark eyes squared evenly on Krad's golden eyes. "I don't need luck, Krad. I have skill."

**To be Continued….**


End file.
